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Hi all,
Ive tested a pair of Gold Phantoms by Devialet and absolutely love the sound and design.
A pair of Golds with tree stands and a dialogue are very expensive so I've been putting off making the
purchase for quite a long time. Im mainly worried about the speakers possibly breaking down after the warranty
expires or a lack of support and updates to the firmware and Spark.
Im mainly speaking to those who own a pair of Golds.
What has your experience been like?
Are they still working well?
Are you still enjoying their sound and ultimately................would you recommend I invest in a pair now?
Thank you very much
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15-Sep-2019, 23:29
(This post was last modified: 15-Sep-2019, 23:49 by Snoopy8.)
I have a stereo pair of Phantom Golds and they replaced a much more expensive set up of components. Using UPnP and MinimServer with convolution to play music from a NAS. Love the Phantoms for its wide sound stage and detail in a simple setup. No longer chasing the next component upgrade ...
Every hifi component will break down eventually but typically any problem will usually show up early in its life and covered by warranty. When I contact Support, Devialet response is good. Spark can be better but it is due to be replaced by the end of the year. Yes, there are many complaints about the lack of updates and no roadmap, especially from the Expert Pro owners. However, my Phantoms are working well and I am not using Roon (another source of complaints).
I can recommend a pair of Phantom Gold.
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I concur with Snoopy8. When I bought the golds, I was looking for a portable full range stereo system which was satisfying to my ears, my budget, and my family. After 2 plus years, the golds are still valued and missed when I am unable to listen to them. That said, there are more options available today than when I pulled the trigger. For example, if the reactor had been available I may have pursued a home theater set up using them instead, or considered the opals, or Kiis if my budget were larger. Overall, I am quite satisfied and I too no longer suffer from upgraditis (unless you count my wanting additional phantoms) because the speakers continue to wow.
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After having bought a pair of Silver in 2015, I bought a pair of Gold in 2016, giving the Silver to my sons. I'm a daily music listener since. All the four are working well with not any issue. I regulary bring one of my two Gold in a secondary location (3 or 4 travels a year) with no problem. And most of all I still enjoy the revolution they bring in my music listening and I think about it every time I use them.
Devices :
2 Gold Phantoms (previously 2 Silver) + Dialog - Denon DCD-SD/300 - Project Essential II Digital equipped with Ortofon 2M Blue,
Accessories :
Tree, Cocoon, Remote
Lyon - France
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Thanks for the reply guys/gals.
This is the kind of response I want to read. As mentioned, I love the sound and design so Im wanting to hear positive comments to help me pull the trigger and purchase.
I really hope they add a graphic equalizer to Spark eventually. I know Im going to get a lot of heat for what Im about to say, but I plan to use my regular Samsung music player on
my mobile to connect to the Golds via blue tooth. The reason is because Spark has no graphic equalizer and my Samsung music player does. Ive tested the sound quality when listening to the same song via Spark wifi connection to the Golds and blue tooth connection through my Samsung mobile phone music player and even though the sound quality is supposed to be superior via wifi..................I simply got a much more dynamic and pleasing sound via blue tooth because of the equalizer and its customization to my liking.
I'm not interested in the technical details regarding loss of quality through blue tooth compared to wifi and all that mumbo jumbo. I trust my ears and it is clear to me that the Golds sound far better when I listen via blue tooth with an equalizer set exactly to my liking vs the sound Spark produces without an equalizer.
This is why the idea of a Spark update which includes and graphic equalizer makes me very excited. I can only imagine how much better my music will sound via a Spark wifi connection PLUS an equalizer to customize the sound to my liking.
Thank you all for your comments.
Does anyone else have any comments regarding their experience with a pair of Phantoms? Standard, Silver or Gold?
Thank you.
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If you want an equalizer I'd opt for Roon and an endpoint connected to an optical input. You'll preserve the sound quality while tailoring the sound to your taste. Works like a charm.
Living room: Kii Three/BXT with Control.
Den: Tannoy Precision 8 iDP with TS112 iDP subwoofer.
In the cupboard, waiting for a sibling: 1st gen. Phantom Silver running DOS1
My Phantom Voyage
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Ive heard about Roon and I am open to suggestions for playing music on the Phantoms via wifi rather than blue tooth.
If it means I can have access to a graphic equalizer to customize the sound to my liking.
I find it quite confusing. Is it software only for my PC? Is it an app I can download onto my mobile? Is it a physical box?
Or all of the above?
I really dont want my PC to have anything to do with my Phantom music listening experience.
I simply want to go to Tidal and play music on my mobile or play the music I have stored in my Samsung music player on my mobile.
Id like to do it all wireless.
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I think you will be one happy man if you go ahead. I recently used mine 100% the iPhone Tidal App
The only small issue was having to open Spark a few times during a long session - if the volume controls stopped working on my phone. Reopening Spark app to bring it back to life always did the trick (it’s actually this volume being controlled in the background)
You could also check if streaming to a Google Chromecast into a Phantom Optical input - would allow your EQ settings to pass thru. I know with AirPlay Spotify EQ passes through (with Spotify Connect it doesn’t)
